Burned
by Skye Chaser
Summary: Elsa never thought she could find someone like her and yet, in those red eyes, she began feeling more at home than anywhere else. But before she could be happy, there was a battle to be fought, or maybe two. ElsaxOC, AnnaxKristoff. WARNING: There is femslash in this story. Rated T for now.
1. Prologue: Untouched

**Prologue: Untouched**

The forest was alive with fire. The flames touched the reddish sky as they danced together, lost in the music of destruction and taking every sign of life with them. The trees screeched as the heat cruelly crushed their barks and made their leaves disappear, leaving behind nothing but a sad black dust as a reminder that they once existed. The smoke could be seen from kilometers away and it formed dark figures over the light clouds as the sun struggled to appear behind it.

"Hurry up! We need more water!" one of the guards yelled as the other ones ran around him in a crazed fashion. They carried buckets and buckets of water and threw them towards the flames in an attempt to kill them, but it was futile. The fire kept growing and growing in spite of their efforts. There was only one person with a chance to do something about that disaster.

"Has the queen been notified yet?" the chief guard asked and the other one nodded. He raised a hand to wipe the sweat out of his eyes. How hotter could it get?

"She should be here any minute," the subordinate answered as he mimicked his bosses' previous action. There was a salty taste on every word he said.

"Let's just hope there is something she can do about this," said the chief as they both turned around to the sound of running hooves. Not much time passed before they saw its source. It was the queen, riding with the kingdom's official ice deliverer on his reindeer and they were approaching them at great speed.

"Let me down here, Kristoff" the queen asked and the young man nodded in response. The reindeer stopped and the woman skillfully got down of the animal and walked towards the chief guard.

"Queen Elsa… The fire is uncontrollable," said the chief "Its almost like its alive," Elsa raised a hand to gently indicate the man to stop talking. She walked towards the edge of the forest and took a deep breath. If there ever was an appropriate moment for her to let go of all her power this was it. She felt the cold in her body, even though she knew how hot the environment actually was. She closed her eyes.

"Call back your men" she ordered "And all of you take a step back," the chief did as he was told and soon enough all the guards and Kristoff were standing behind her, eyes peeled with expectation.

"Let it go" Elsa murmured to herself, eyes still shut. The ice emanated from every pore of her body, the coldness battling against the raging flames. In the darkness of her eyelids she could feel the fight: cold against hot, ice against fire. Both trying to kill each other, like two dragons wrapped in a death grip. She focused on the cold as hard as she could, using every ounce of her strength to end the existence of the flames. And then she felt something on her chest, like a sudden emptiness in her heart. She opened her eyes and looked at the frozen forest, the ice melting due to the warmth in the air. Elsa took a hand to her chest and breathed heavily. She felt incredibly tired. The world vanished as she began falling.

"Elsa!" Kristoff shouted as she ran to the queen. He was able to hold her before she hit the ground. His eyes shot wide open at the sight of her. Slowly she regained consciousness and opened her eyes.

"Kristoff?" she asked, as she took a hand to her head. She felt extremely drowsy. It was only then that she noticed the way in which her friend and the guards were looking at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Your hair, Elsa" said the ice deliverer "Its black". The queen gasped and moved a hand to hold her braid. She was speechless. She stood up, leaving her friend's arms, and walked a couple of steps. What had happened? Had she lost her powers? And then, as suddenly as her hair had become the color of the night, it regained its usual platinum tone.

"Hey!" the chief guard exclaimed, smiling "Your majesty, your hair is back to normal!" the alluded one held her braid once more and let out a sigh, relieved at the sight of the familiar whitish color.

"Has that… Happened before?" Kristoff asked, waling towards the queen.

"No" said Elsa, still a little bit nervous "Maybe I overused my powers"

"Elsa!" a voice shouted and they all turned around to place their eyes on the young redheaded girl who appeared besides them on top of a horse "Is everything all right? I was organizing the people at the shore when the fire stopped. Good job, sister" the girl said as she dismounted her steed. Her hand was still firmly holding a bucket; upon realizing it was she blushed "Didn't really notice I had brought this with me though…"

"Everything is okay, Anna," the queen answered as she looked at Kristoff, silently asking him not to reveal what had just happened. She would tell her later, when things were calmer.

"Yeah, Elsa totally controlled that fire" the young man said as he placed an arm over Anna's shoulders to comfort her. She relaxed under his touch.

"I was worried for a second, it seemed really bad," the redhead added "Any idea what caused it?" as soon as she made that question the chief guard walked towards them and spoke with a voice of iron.

"I think you should see this, your highnesses" his face was frozen in shock.

….

"Wha… What is this?" Kristoff asked, as he walked around to take a better look.

"That doesn't look natural," added Anna as she walked besides him and clasped his hand tightly, a notably scared.

"Whatever formed that, it's probably what caused the fire," the queen said, finally. Everyone nodded "We'll investigate this later, for now we need to see if there has been any injured people or maybe animals that we can help. Let's go," she ordered and the rest followed. Before leaving the small clearing, the queen of Arendelle stopped and turned around to look at the scene. There was a feeling in her heart she couldn't identify.

In the middle of the trees, amongst the evidence of the fire, was a silhouette, clearly untouched by the flames. If one looked long enough at it, it would be discovered to have a perturbing shape. Amongst ashes and burn tree barks, a patch of grass remained alive, taking the perfect shape of a human body. Next to it footsteps, also untouched by the fire, got lost in the woods.

Elsa shivered, anticipating something big.

She had no idea.


	2. Chapter 1: Ashes

**Chapter 1: Ashes**

"It turned black?" Anna asked in disbelief, slightly raising and eyebrow. Her sister nodded slowly in response, the look in her face one of deep concern. It was late at night and they were in Elsa's room, both siting on the bed right next to each other, close enough but without actually touching. Elsa had wanted to talk to her sister as soon as possible since the forest incident. However, it had been an extremely busy day and yet they had found no answers to what caused the fire. The queen seemed nervous and her sister took notice of it the minute she entered the bedroom. It was extremely cold.

"It wasn't really black I mean… It was dark but also kind of…" she held her hands tightly together and lowered her gaze "It looked just like mother's" Elsa said finally. There was something in her voice that made the redheaded girl feel sad. It was not only the memory of her mother, which never failed to bring melancholy, but also the way in which her sister's complete body language seemed to change. The queen pushed up her shoulders, burying her head between them, and pulled her hands towards herself as she rubbed her arms. It reminded her of the times when Elsa had concealed her true self.

"But it went back to normal, right?" she asked "Well, of course it did, I mean I can see it but…" Anna took a deep breath "What do you think it meant?"

"I… I don't really know, Anna. But I think it was because I overused my powers. Without them I was… I was so normal. I just couldn't believe that they were gone…"

"Gone?" Anna replied, amazed at what the other one had said. She had a hard time imagining Elsa without her powers. The sister she had come to know and love was bonded with that ability.

"I have come to accept this power as a part of me. I… I love it. It is what I am" she smiled shyly "But for a second I felt… Normal… Even now that I know how to control it it's still a burden…"

"Elsa… You know we all love and care for you. With or without your powers you are still my beloved sister and the queen of Arendelle" the redhead held her sister's hands in her own. She was ice cold.

"Thank you, Anna" said the queen with a genuine smile "I know it is not an ideal moment for me to feel uneasy. We still have to determine what caused the fire and…"

"Hey" the youngest interrupted "Don't be afraid to feel anymore, okay? Remember… No more closed doors" the ice queen looked into the eyes of her sibling and smiled, a little tear at the corner of her eye.

"No more closed doors"

….

"Still no clue then?" Kristoff asked as he an Anna strolled close to the forest. The trees were black, naked and broken, the floor burnt and the smell of smoke remained in the atmosphere. They wouldn't go in, of course, the fire had done quite a number in the woods and Elsa had made it clear no one was to enter them until the situation was fully controlled.

"Not at all" answered the girl "And it bothers me a lot. It has Elsa on the edge as well and I really hate seeing her that tense"

"I understand she is nervous about the whole thing I mean that weird silhouette the other day sure was creepy" the blonde added.

"Yeah… It was" and then, as they quietly walked, they heard a groan coming from the woods "What was that?" Anna asked, her body morphing into battle position.

"It came from over there," the iceman answered, pointing to the edge of the forest. "Should we check it out?" he asked as he turned around to face Anna. She was not there.

"Kristoff get over here!" Anna yelled and the alluded one ran to her side.

"You shouldn't just rush to dangerous situations like that," he said as he approached the princess "Who knows what could be… Wow…" he cut his own sentence, too astonished at what he had seen.

It was a girl, lying on her chest over the ashes of the forest. She had short scruffy black hair and her skin was pale. Her clothes looked worn out and at some spots they were burnt. Without saying anything Kristoff had gotten on his knees and was trying to get a pulse.

"Is she…?" Anna asked nervously, lightly leaning over the blonde's shoulder.

"She is alive but her pulse is really weak" he answered.

"We should take her to the palace, we'll have the doctor look at her" the girl said as she walked away from her boyfriend. She looked around and whistled "Sven!" she called. Soon the reindeer, which had been following them on their walk, ran to her. The iceman skillfully placed the unconscious body of the girl over the animal "You go, Kristoff" she said as the man sat on top of his animal friend "I'll catch up with you later"

"But…" he tried to interrupt.

"Just hurry" Anna said with a serious tone and the man nodded in response. Soon they disappeared into the distance and the princess began running back to the castle. She couldn't stop thinking where had that girl come from. She couldn't recognize her as a citizen of Arendelle and, even if she didn't know every single one of the inhabitants of her reign, she was sure she could at least tell them out by their faces.

That girl she had never seen.

….

Kristoff was outside of the room pacing back and forth. Anna held her hands together nervously and bit her bottom lip lightly. The doctor was sure taking a long time. As soon as the blonde had arrived at the castle he had requested the servants take the girl to a bedroom and notify the palace medic. He was quick to arrive but the diagnosis, for which he asked a couple of assistants and privacy, was taking quite some time.

Elsa was not at the palace at the moment but at the pier having a meeting with the fishermen guild, and both Anna and Kristoff wondered how she would feel about a foreigner being brought straight to the castle. Even if she had grown out of her shell in the past year and a half there were some limits that she had yet to break.

And then the door opened. The doctor had a smile on his face and they sighted, relived and such a sight.

"She is okay then?" Anna asked and the doctor gently nodded.

"Yes, she is stable now" the man replied. He was an older fellow, with a deep grey moustache that matched his hairdo, combed to hide the still notorious bald spots on his forehead "However" he continued with a changed expression on his face. The blonde and the redhead both shifted the looks on theirs as well "She was severely dehydrated and has likely not had a bite in several days. If she were a foreigner then I would guess she has been on the road for quite some time and without any real source of nourishment. She will be extremely weak when she wakes up. Please notify me if anything happens. I will leave one of my assistants here either way"

"Thank you doctor we are really grateful that you…"

"Anna! Kristoff!" the voice itself seemed to freeze the environment a little bit and they both turned around to place their eyes on a very angry queen.

"Oh! Hello, Elsa!" Anna said "Such a beautiful coincidence to have you here! We have something to tell you"

"Kai has already informed me, sister. And I would like to know why have you brought someone into the castle without notifying me first" Elsa asked. She didn't really know why, but having strangers in the palace was still nerve wrecking for her. Even when they would have balls or meetings inside the castle she would still get a little anxious. She thought is was something about it being her home, her sanctuary and the place she grew up in. She felt so vulnerable among the walls that were once her prison. On top of that, it was a foreigner. Ever since the incident with Hans and the Duke of Wiselton, she had taken international relations with caution. She was not to be fooled again.

"Elsa, we didn't know what else to do. The hospital has its hands full with the people that were injured during the fire so the castle was our best shot" Kristoff answered and something in the alluded one's expression changed. The fire, she remembered, could this person have something to do with it?

"I know there is a lot you three should discuss, your highness, but maybe do it elsewhere. Our patient needs rest" the doctor said and brought Elsa back to the actual situation. She peeked behind the man and saw the girl on the bed. She was probably her age, maybe a bit younger, and had the most beautiful sleeping face. Strands of black hair brushed the tip of her nose and there was a small scar under her left eye. And yet she did not look well at all: her skin was dead pale. Suddenly, Elsa felt remorse for getting angry with Anna and Kristoff. That girl was surely in need of help and had she been there, she would have probably done the same. She could ask all the questions she wanted when the girl was awake.

"I… I am sorry" Elsa said, lowering her gaze "I am overthinking things. You were right to bring her here" she smiled and so did the others "I'm just…"

"We know" Anna said, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. She knew the other one would understand and, even if it took her a while, she was able to see why their actions had been necessary.

After the doctor left Elsa made her way into the bedroom and had a closer look at her new guest. Even with such a peaceful expression upon her face, the queen couldn't avoid feeling there was something more to the girl than what met the eye. Why was she alone in the forest after the fire? Why was she in such a condition? Why couldn't she stop looking at her? There was something about her but she couldn't place her finger on what yet. She walked around the room, trying to get her thoughts straight. It was not often that people stayed the night in the castle and it was making her anxious sharing her personal space with someone new. And yet she couldn't stop staring. There was something…

Elsa looked at the scar under the girl's eye and noticed it was not great in size, but it was pretty obvious the wound that gave it birth had been a deep one. Without noticing, the platinum blonde had approached the other one's face more than she probably should as she tried to guess what had caused it. And then, out of the blue, the black haired girl opened her eyes.

She had bright red eyes.


End file.
